A Thief

I have this character in one of my many stories and it seems like he's stealing the spotlight from everyone else. He's supposed to be a supporting character but it seems like he wants the story to be about him. He also spends way too much time with the main character, and he has a girlfriend and the MC has a boyfriend.

Also, he's like one of my favourite characters and he plays a big role in the story. So I can't just...kill him.

So, what I'm actually asking is if anyone has any helpful hints or tips, I'd greatly appreciate them. He's just really, really annoying me. Yet he's so cool.

If you're saying that you have no control over him, or how much spotlight he absorbs, then you're in big trouble. It's simple. Just write about the other characters more; reduce his time on the pages. If you wanted him as a supporting character, then give him a supporting role where he's seen more than heard. Or do something similar. But seriously, it shouldn't be so hard to take care of that; I would think it'd be harder to set anything for the MC rather than a supporting character.

Of course, that's just my opinion. God knows I throw that around too much.

If the supporting character is vocal and the main character is not, this problem cannot really be rectified without destroying the personality and dialogue of what has already happened. I wouldn't go killing off any character either. Simply trim.

It can work well, unless you are only a few dozen pages in, which you can change personality more freely and rewrite sections as you see fit.

Thanks...I'll see if I can trim and cut down his time. I've got like 300 pages written. Bah, characters with their own minds...they take over the story.

Give a conflict to struggle with... he'll calm down after that.

Thanks for all your helpful tips! I'll do something to calm him down and hopefully he won't try and shove his way to the front again. Thank-you!

Meadow

He wants attention, eh? Characters can do that. It's irritating, but there is a solution.

What you need to do is not KILL him, but rather occupy him. Maybe he will get arrested and go to jail. Get accepted to a college. Anything that will take him away and reduce page time.

When this happens, you do have the option of writing the rest of his story as another novel.

OR

You can take him and write a story about him completely - not in any way related to this one. That's how A novel I may or may not get about writing evolved - Jacob, a character from Betrayed and Plagued, wanted a story. I adjusted his physical traits and placed him in another story - any then you have the Wandering Outcast series.